AG moves to cut his powers
Attorney General (AG) Thabo Chakaka Nyirenda has proposed the amendment of Civil Procedure (Suits by or against the Government or Public Officers) Act which gives his office powers to make determinations on claims against government.
He suggests that the new law should allow other officers or the Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament to take part in assessing and approving claims against the government.
Chakaka Nyirenda said this will ensure that there is transparency and accountability on the settlements.
He also proposes that a committee or office to be incorporated in the new law should be involved in assessing claims of over K100 million only.
Chakaka Nyirenda said: “There is nothing thatwould stop me from making any settlement, so you cannot just leave it on the integrity of a person to decide one way or the other in terms of settlements.
“We are talking about a certain settlement which perhaps would be huge on account of errors of judgement. So to prevent those errors of judgement or arbitrary settlements, what we need is that there must be some guidelines in the form of a law.”
The AG’s proposal comes barely a month after indicating in December 2021 that his assessment of compensation claims had jumped to over K2 trillion from over K800 billion in October 2021.
Chakaka Nyirenda at the time claimed that in some judgements, the courts award huge sums of money to claimants but a good chunk of them are dubious.
He said in Kenya, one of that country’s former AGs was found making dubious settlements by conniving with claimants to defraud the government, so Malawi must learn from that incident.
Chakaka Nyirenda said: “When doing things, we also have to study and learn from others. This suggestion is made for the benefit of Malawians. It will stop the government from being a Father Christmas of sorts.”
The AG further said he has already consulted President Lazarus Chakwera, Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Titus Mvalo and the Ministry of Finance on the proposal.
He said Chakwera has welcomed the proposal to amend the law which he believes if tabled and passed in Parliament, will help to save government money.
In his State of the Nation Address (Sona) on Thursday, Chakwera spoke passionately about the need for governance institutions such as the Office of the Attorney General, Anti- Corruption Bureau (ACB) and the Director of Public Prosecutions
(DPP) to work together if the fight against corruption is to be won.
He also confirmed AG’s move to reduce his powers to ensure accountability.
Chakwera said: “The Attorney General cannot enhance the drive against corruption if he is allowed to enter settlements out of court without a system of accountability, which is why my administration will be amending the Civil Procedures Act to establish a committee responsible for making recommendations to the Attorney General before settling claims above a certain threshold.”
The Legal Affairs Committee
of Parliament and Malawi Law Society (MLS) have since welcomed the AG’s proposal to amend the Act.
Legal Affairs Committee of Parliament chairperson Peter Dimba said his committee will
fully support the proposal if it is tabled in the House.
However, he suggested that members of the committee should be incorporated in assessing claims that come from different government ministries, departments and agencies.
Dimba said: “It’s a very brilliant proposal and a welcome development because it will eliminate some bias by people in the system who have interests in the claims.”
On his part, MLS president Patrick Mpaka believes that if the Act is amended, it will help to promote transparency and accountability on the settlements of the claims.
“It sounds sensible because it will provide checks and balances. It would help to institutionalise the process. But I will still need to understand what the details of that proposal are.”
